Theodora Beckmann (née Petie; 23 July 1923 – 5 May 2004), better known by her

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Thea Beckman, was a Dutch author of children's books.

Biography

At a young age, Beckman knew she wanted to be a writer. As a teenager, she would write numerous stories and would listen to various types of music, ranging from classic to exciting film scores, depending on the kind of scene she was writing. in her twenties, Beckman studied

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

, attending the University of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

. In wake of the 1929 economic crisis, her father lost his job and Beckman was glad she had managed to finish her studies, especially after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

occurred. As a writer, she intended to use her husband's name of Beckmann as her pseudonym. Her publisher urged her to change it to Beckman with only one "n", to avoid her name from appearing "too German", in wake of Germany's negative reputation after World War II. Beckman is best known for '' Crusade in Jeans'', a 1973 children's time travel novel for which she was awarded the Gouden Griffel. The book describes a children's

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

in 1212 and was adapted into a movie in 2006. She also received notable attention for her trilogy ''Children of Mother Earth'', which depicted a post-apocalyptic earth where soldiers from societies led by men invade and disrupt a newfound Greenlandic society led by women. Though the book contains

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

themes, Beckman did not consider the book's ideology her own, stating: "People are greedy, aggressive and intolerant." She specifically stated that she did not believe a maternal society would function better than a paternal one. She died in her residence in Bunnik of unknown causes in 2004, aged 80.

Personal life

In 1945, Thea married Dirk Hendrik Beckmann. Their marriage produced three children, two sons Rien and Jerry and a daughter Marianne. Dirk Beckmann died in 1993. Thea Beckman was not religious and chose not to reveal a political orientation.

Selected bibliography

The following is a list of her best known novels: * ''Met Korilu de Griemel rond'' (Around the Greemel with Korilu, 1970) (Later renamed to ''Zwerftocht met Korilu'' – Wandering with Korilu;

Zilveren Griffel The Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands. History Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Stichting Collectieve Prop ...

1971) * ''Kruistocht in spijkerbroek'' ('' Crusade in Jeans''; 1973; Gouden Griffel 1974; European award for best historical youth novel 1974; made into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

in 2006) – about the children's crusade of 1212 * ''Mijn vader woont in Brazilië'' (My father lives in Brazil, 1974) * The trilogy ''Geef me de ruimte'' (Give me space) – about the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagene ...

between England and France **''Geef me de ruimte'' (Give me space, 1976), **''Triomf van de verschroeide aarde'' (Triumph of scorched earth, 1977) **''Het rad van fortuin'' (Wheel of fortune, 1978) * ''Stad in de storm'' (City in the Storm, 1979;

1980) – about Utrecht in the Year of Disaster 1672 * ''Wij zijn wegwerpkinderen'' (We are throw-away kids, 1980) * '' De gouden dolk'' (The golden dagger, 1982) – about the

second crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Cru ...

, 1147–1149 * ''Hasse Simonsdochter'' (1983) – about Jan van Schaffelaar's wife * '' Wonderkinderen'' (wonder children, 1984) about two especially gifted children * The trilogy ''Kinderen van Moeder Aarde'' (Children of Mother Earth) a futuristic novel set ten centuries after World War III, describing the struggle between utopian Thule (Greenland, after a climate change made it prosperous) and Baden (militaristic European nation) **''Kinderen van Moeder Aarde'' (1985), **''

Het helse paradijs Het or HET may refer to: Science and technology * Hall-effect thruster, a type of ion thruster used for spacecraft propulsion * Heavy Equipment Transporter, a vehicle in the US Army's Heavy Equipment Transport System * Hobby–Eberly Telescope, ...

'' (Hellish Paradise, 1987) **''

Het Gulden Vlies van Thule Het or HET may refer to: Science and technology * Hall-effect thruster, a type of ion thruster used for spacecraft propulsion * Heavy Equipment Transporter, a vehicle in the US Army's Heavy Equipment Transport System * Hobby–Eberly Telescope, ...

'' (The Golden Fleece of Thule, 1989) * ''De val van de Vredeborch'' (Fall of the Freeburgh, 1988) * ''Een bos vol spoken'' (A forest full of ghosts, 1988) * ''Het wonder van Frieswijck'' (The miracle of Frieswijck, 1991) * ''De stomme van Kampen'' (The Mute of Kampen, 1992) – about the mute painter

Hendrick Avercamp Hendrick Avercamp (January 27, 1585 (bapt.) – May 15, 1634 (buried)) was a Dutch painter during the Dutch Golden Age of painting. He was one of the earliest landscape painters of the 17th-century Dutch school, he specialized in painting th ...

* ''De doge-ring van Venetië'' (The Doge-ring of Venice, 1994) – about a trip to Venice to obtain an important relic for an abbey. * ''Saartje Tadema'' (1996) – about an orphan girl in the Amsterdam orphanage * ''Vrijgevochten'' (Fought free, 1998) – about a sailor boy who is captured as a slave * ''Gekaapt!'' (Hijacked!, 2003)

Thea Beckman prize

After her death, the Historisch Nieuwsblad (historical newspaper) renamed the "Bontekoe-award" (a prize for the best historical youth book, established in 2003) as the Thea Beckman Award. In 2004, it was awarded to Benny Lindelauf for his book ''Negen open armen'' (nine open arms). In 2005, it was given to Belgian authors

Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem Jean-Claude is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Claude Ades, an Italian electronic music producer * Jean-Claude Alibert (died 2020), a French racing driver * Jean-Claude Amiot (born 1939), a French compos ...

and Pat Beirs for the novel ''Jonkvrouw''.

External links

Biographical note and interview
(in Dutch) by

Lemniscaat Lemniscaat or Lemniscaat Publishers is a Dutch independent publishing house based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The company publishes both children's literature and non-fiction books for adults. The company is named after the lemniscate symbol. Hi ...

(publisher) {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckman, Thea 1923 births 2004 deaths Dutch children's writers Dutch science fiction writers Writers from Rotterdam Dutch women children's writers Gouden Griffel winners